InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – Asosiasi Petani Kelapa Sawit Indonesia (APKASINDO) has been established for the past 24 years. It is a long journey. The association within its head quarter in the Ministry of Agriculture, passed the dynamics. The substitutions of coordinators in democratic ways, would reflect the spirit of smallholders’ cooperation to be the members of APKASINDO.
In May 2024, the fourth national scale – meeting was held in Medan. It would be the important meeting. The voters from 22 provinces, with the same votes, voted Gulat ME Manurung as the Chairman of APKASINDO. He would be the leader in the association for the second period until 2029.
On Wednesday, 9 October 2024, there would be official inauguration of the new coordinators of APKASINDO at the auditorium of Ministry of Agriculture. It would be inaugurated by Chairman of Board of Supervisor of APKASINDO, General of Army (Ret.) Dr. Moeldoko.
Manurung said, the new coordinators would be more than those in the previous period. It happened for the additional new sectors for palm oil industries also developed, namely in downstream and overseas aspects.
“The smallholders, corporates, and the governments, should be ready to face any chance in the future,” he said, as in the official statement to InfoSAWIT, Monday (7/5/2024).
The inauguration would be attended by some figures, such as, Minister of Agriculture, Amran Sulaiman, and Coordinator Minister in Maritime and Investment, Luhut Panjaitan. Besides, 22 provincial coordinators of APKASINDO and three new provinces - Papua Selatan, Papua Tengah, and East Java – would also attend the ceremony to listen to what the officials would say.
Not only that there would be 23 campus – partners of General Directorate of Plantation, Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency, and some ambassadors to export palm oil products from Indonesia, and other VVIP guests.
After the inauguration, there would be workshop about palm oil plantation governance. It would consist of two sessions. The first one would discuss about reinforcing palm oil (plantation) governance, and the second, it would focus to support the stakeholders in the smallholders’ fresh fruit bunch (FFB) downstream sector.
“The topics to be discussed would be very relevant with the latest issues, such as, to postpone European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), the challenges about crude palm oil (CPO) debit and credit in this country namely about biodiesel and food, and the increasing CPO tariff in India,” Manurung said.
Heading to the leadership transition from President Joko Widodo to the elected President, Prabowo, Manurung really hoped that palm oil industries in Indonesia would be better in the new government. “We, as smallholders, would fully support,” he said.
With the optimism and new spirit, APKASINDO would be ready to face the future challenges and reinforce palm oil industries of Indonesia in the global scale – stage. (T2)
